雖然美國年輕人的工資增長低迷，就業前景不佳，但美國依舊有大量的財富，其百萬富翁階層的規模超過了其他任何一個國家。而且，這個階層仍在不斷壯大。

彭博社根據波士頓咨詢集團的預測報道稱，未來幾年，達到百萬富翁標準的美國人人數將以平均每天1,700人的速度增長。到2020年，美國將新誕生310萬百萬富翁，2010至2015年期間，百萬富翁人數增長了240萬。

該公司表示，今天，資產價值（不包括不動產與奢侈品）超過100萬美元的美國家庭約有800萬個。

彭博社表示，個人財富的大幅增加主要源自“歷史上規模最大的代際財富轉移”。美國人的財富主要集中在年齡較長的群體，而他們已經達到富裕水平的后代將會繼承一筆財富。

彭博社引用咨詢公司Spectrem Group的研究稱，遺產繼承對于保持財務增長至關重要。該公司對資產價值超過2,500萬美元的50歲以下投資者進行了調查，其中有75%表示，遺產繼承是他們成功的因素之一。

但約有75%的美國人屬于圣路易斯聯邦儲備銀行所謂的“掙扎者”，其他則被劃為“成功者”。前者每年的收入僅夠維持生計，而后者可以成功儲蓄和積攢財富。由于大量財富是通過遺產繼承的方式代代相傳，因此百萬富翁數量的迅速增長，并不會打破財富集中的秩序。

但現在成為百萬富翁可能不再具有從前的重要意義。彭博社稱，今天的個人凈值100萬美元，按購買力計算，相當于1980的341,000美元，在20世紀初只相當于45,000美元。如今，成為百萬富翁甚至不能算是“富人”，因為生活成本、教育和退休會讓財富大幅縮水。

不過，美國規模龐大的工薪階層肯定很愿意加入這個日益壯大的百萬富翁軍團。（財富中文網）

譯者：劉進龍/汪皓

Despite little wage growth and declining job prospects among young Americans, the U.S. is home to vast stores of wealth and a millionaire class that outsizes that of any other country in the world. And it’s about to get even bigger.

The number of Americans who meet the millionaire threshold is set to increase by an average of 1,700 every day for the coming years, Bloomberg reports, based on projections by the Boston Consulting Group. By the year 2020, the U.S. is expected to welcome 3.1 million new members into its millionaires' club, which grew by 2.4 million from 2010 to 2015.

Today, there are about 8 million American households with assets worth more than $1 million, excluding properties and luxury goods, the firm said.

The coming spike in individual wealth will largely be due to what Bloomberg calls “the largest generational transfer of wealth in history.” Much of America’s wealth is concentrated among older generations, whose mostly already affluent offspring are about to inherit a fortune.

Inheritance matters in maintaining financial growth, according to research by the Spectrem Group, a consulting firm cited by Bloomberg. Over 73% of surveyed investors under 50 with assets above $25 million told the group that inheritance factored into their success.

Some 75% of Americans, however, are what the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis calls “strugglers," while the remainder is classified as “thrivers.” The former make just enough to get by little each year, while the latter are able to successfully save and accumulate wealth. With so much money being handed down through inheritance, a swift rise in the number of millionaires is unlikely to upset the order of concentrated wealth.

But being a millionaire may not matter as much as it used to. Bloomberg says a net worth of $1 million today has the buying power of, say, $341,000 in 1980, or $45,000 in the early 20th century. Being a millionaire these days doesn’t even necessarily qualify one as “rich,” as living expenses, education, and retirement easily chip away at the sum.

Nonetheless, the vast majority of America’s working class would surely welcome an invitation into the country’s growing legion of seven-figure holders.